Over at a related Facebook page the question of podcasts was being tossed around and the name Tim Ferriss came up. Now Fenster he is at the point where he has to work hard to avoid knowing about a lot of things, like who Marc Maron is anyway. And Ferriss fell into this rather broad category. I’d heard the name but more or less made it my business to stay ignorant, which is a hard thing to do in this day and age.

But I took the plunge since I like a good podcast. I can’t say I regret the decision. Ferriss is an interesting guy who can give a good interview. But I must say I am just totally exhausted after listening to him for a few minutes.

I don’t hold it against him overly that he is well beyond my energy level–he is after all young and Fenster is, well, seasoned. But it’s how he is energetic–rewire your brain every second Tuesday and that will permit you to microdose your LSD so as to maximize your Bodily Strength Quotient every other week so that you can make the most of the Sophocles Reading Group on Thursdays so you can . . . oh, and remember those great running shoes! They got zest appeal!

Ferriss begins his podcasts with advertisements. I don’t begrudge that either. The man has to make a living and if you have lots of surplus energy why not use some of it for gain? But given his . . . energetic . . . ways, his long intro ads can come across a bit like Prairie Home Companion ads on an overdose of ADHD medication. They are also a little poetic if you choose to listen to them that way. So here is his recent intro (two intros actually, back to back) for a show on, of all things, the Roman stoic Seneca.

This episode is brought to you

By Boll and Branch

Which is what I have on my bed

At home

In San Francisco!

I use it myself!

In the bedding business

For instance:

thread count

Not a measure of quality!

Total myth.

And guess what?

Egyptian cotton?

Well guess what?

It’s a plant called gossypium barbadense

I don’t think that’s how you say it

But it’s how I read it.

Generally not even grown in Egypt.

And the “Made in Italy” label

You’re so proud of?

Well you shouldn’t necessarily pay extra for that

Because it often means

it is just finished in Italy

But woven someplace

like China.

The general industry markup for bedding

Is somewhere between

700 and 800 percent

At the usual retails stores you would go to.

Boll and Branch

—which is B-O-L-L–

Is incredibly high quality

They have a higher cost of goods

Than many products you might buy at

3X or 4X their prices

Because they sell direct to the consumer.

So check it out.

Go to bollandbranch.com.

And not that you need to

But you can try anything you order

At you home for 30 days.

If you don’t love it you can send it back

For a full refund.

Go to bollandbranch.com

And use promo code “Tim”

For 20% off your entire order.

Whether that’s sheets, towels,

Blankets, duvet covers, anything

And shipping is always free.

Check it out

bollandbranch.com.

Promo code “Tim”.

This episode is brought to you

By Exoprotein.

It’s one of the start-ups I work with.

I love what they do.

These guys are making protein bars

Using cricket protein powder.

And before you screw your face up

And look disgusted

I bet they taste better

than any protein bar you’ve had before.

I devour these bars after lifting sessions

I take them with me on the road

The recipes were developed by

A three Michelin star chef.

Former head of R&D at the Fat Duck.

Which was ranked the #1 restaurant in the world

In his tenure.

The bars are paleo friendly

No gluten

No grains.

No soy.

No dairy.

Etc.

They are high in protein and flavor.

And extremely unique.

And do not pop your glycemic response up.

Oddly enough!

And you can look that up online

To see some stories on that.

Ferenstein.

That’s the journalist who looked at it.

On top of all that they are less processed

Than nearly all the protein bars

You’ll be able to find.

This is your chance to see

What the hype is all about.

The founders were just on

The Forbes 30 Under 30 List.

And they are offering a discount

To Tim Ferris Show listeners

Just go to exoprotein.com

Forward slash tim.

That’s exoprotein.com

Forward slash tim today.

You can try a sampler pack

With all their most popular flavors

For less than ten bucks.

That’s exoprotein.com

Forward slash tim.

And I would recommend doing it

Relatively fast.

And that’s not a BS scarcity thing.

They’re a start up with limited inventory

And they sell out all the time.

That is what happened the last time

I mentioned that.

So check it out.

exoprotein.com

Forward slash tim.

Greetings ladies and germs

And welcome to another episode

Of the Tim Ferris Show.

This is a short form show rather than a long interview

With an expert of some type.

And we are going to focus on

Seneca.

My favorite Stoic thinker and author

Seneca the Younger.

His writing,

that I’m gonna highlight in excerpt,

Is roughly 2,000 years old.

But it is timeless

And we are going to listen to

On the Shortness of Life.

It is an essay I revisit
At least once a quarter.

Along with all of his other letters

Which you can listen to

If you would like

Through

The Tao of Seneca.

At audible.com

Forward slash timsbooks

In this particular letter

I will highlight my favorite portion

Which begins with

And I quote

“Why do you torment yourself

And lose weight

Over some problem?”

Dot dot dot

And on it goes

This is a fantastic reminder to

Mind the critical few

To ignore the trivial many

And much much more.

I hope you enjoy it.

So check it out.

stoicsenecaseminars.com

Mind the critical few

And ignore the trivial many

Backslash tim.

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About Fenster

Gainfully employed for thirty years, including as one of those high paid college administrators faculty complain about. Earned Ph.D. late in life and converted to the faculty side. Those damn administrators are ruining everything.

One Response to Tim Ferriss on (dot dot dot) Seneca

Ferris is one of those people with an unending need to “hack” this or that. I read his book The 4 Hour Workweek when it came out in 2007, that’s all I needed to hear from him. I wonder how many hours a week he works on his podcast.